Apple : Tutorial: How to use RAW files with iPhoto |
- Tutorial: How to use RAW files with iPhoto
- Tutorial: Troubleshoot your Mac's network problems
- Tutorial: How to run old Windows apps on your Mac
| Tutorial: How to use RAW files with iPhoto Posted:  How to use RAW files with iPhotoNormally, digital cameras process image data captured by the sensor and save the finished photo as a JPEG file, but RAW files contain the image data in its unprocessed form. You need a program capable of processing these RAW files on your computer, but the advantage is better image quality and the ability to choose some of the settings later rather than having to commit to them when you shoot. Adobe Photoshop and Elements come with the best-known RAW converter, Adobe Camera Raw, but iPhoto is perfectly capable of processing RAW files too. In fact, it's rather good at it. The tools are much more basic than Adobe Camera Raw's, but it generates good definition and colour, and it's especially effective at recovering highlight detail, as we'll see. Mostly, RAW files are handled in just the same way as JPEGs. You'll see a 'RAW' badge in the corner of the histogram at the top of the Adjust panel, and the adjustment tools are the same except for two key differences. The first is that the Exposure/Recovery slider can pull back data that's disappeared off the right-hand end of the histogram scale. With normal JPEGs, these highlights would be lost for good. The second difference lies in the White Balance section. With JPEGs, the white balance is set by the camera, which discards leftover colour data; the Temperature and Tint sliders just apply adjustments to the remaining colours. But RAW files contain the full colour data captured by the sensor. The Temperature and Tint sliders now show the white balance set on the camera, but you can change this to match the shooting conditions. It's possible to get much better results from RAW files than JPEGs. Let's look at them in more detail. How to exploit your RAW images1. Assess image
There's too much contrast in this photo. If you check the histogram at the top-right Adjust panel, you'll see that the highlights are badly clipped. This would be disaster in a JPEG image, but RAW files have extra highlight data that you can recover using the tools in iPhoto. 2. Recover highlights
Drag the Exposure slider left. This will move the whole histogram to the left to reveal more highlight detail, but it will also darken the image. Instead, hold down the Option key. The Exposure slider becomes a Recovery slider: drag it to the right for extra highlight detail. 3. Adjust Exposure
It's still not enough to recover all the detail in the sky, but by setting the Recovery value to its maximum first, you reduce the amount you need to adjust the Exposure. Here, a value of -1 brings out the clouds in the sky, though it leaves the foreground rather dark. 4. Move Highlights slider
You can balance bright and dark areas using the Highlights and Shadows sliders. First, a small adjustment to the Highlights slider darkens the sky still further. This is not the same as highlight recovery - it just darkens the detail that's already there. 5. Lighten Shadows
It's best not to use too high a Highlights setting because it flattens out brighter tones in a way that can quickly look artificial. You can use much larger settings with the Shadows slider - this brings out details that were previously too dark to see. 6. Increase Contrast
If your image is looking a bit flat by this stage, increase the Contrast. You'll often find this is no time for half measures, and, in this case, it needs to be pushed right up to 100 to produce a worthwhile improvement. The picture now looks a lot better. 7. Increase Saturation
You might need to increase the Saturation too, but here you have to be a little more careful because the colours can start to look artificial. If you check the Avoid saturating skin tones box first, the saturation increase is applied mostly to the weaker colours. 8. Adjust White Balance
Increasing the saturation will also show up any issues with the white balance. Here, for example, the picture has started to look a little too 'warm', which can be fixed by slightly reducing the Temperature and Tint values. (RAW allows for more realistic colour shifts.) |
| Tutorial: Troubleshoot your Mac's network problems Posted:  How to troubleshoot Mac networking problemsWhen a network problem strikes, it isn't always immediately obvious. It's rare to get a clear message on the screen and it's easy to imagine that your Facebook app has simply crashed or a website is offline. Mac news and reviews  Apple Mac laptop reviewsApple Mac desktop reviews All our Apple news, features and reviews A good first check is to open a new window in Safari and try pointing at google.com. The front page itself could be loading from Safari's internal cache, of course, so test your live connection to the internet by typing something random into the search box to query the server. If you get a page of results, then you have an internet connection, at least. If you get a progress bar that goes nowhere, followed by a 'Safari can't find the server' page, you've got problems. If you have a wireless connection to your broadband router, look at the menu bar on your Mac. The 'stripy slice of pie' icon on the right-hand side should be black. If it's greyed out, right-click it to see if you're connected to the right network. You may see your Wi-Fi network listed in the 'available' section, but no tick against it to show it's selected. This is because the network briefly disappeared from the radar and OS X hasn't automatically reconnected when it came back up. Just click it on the list to reconnect.
If your Wi-Fi link looks fine but you still have no internet connection, take a look at the router. Broadband modem/routers are little computers running an embedded operating system, and they can crash just like any other computer. If none of the lights on the front are flickering - either because they are all stuck on, or they are all switched off - turn the modem off at the wall. Actually, do this even if your modem lights look normal - different modems use different light sequences to indicate problems, and rebooting the modem is an easy and quick crash-fix. When your modem starts up it will begin with a power-on self-test, which is normally indicated by the power light flashing steadily. After about five seconds of this, the power light will change to steady. Next to light up will be the LAN lights for any wired Ethernet connections that are active, closely followed by the wireless light, which should start blinking away. After that there will be a pause as your modem logs in to your ISP and then the light labelled 'broadband', 'ADSL' or just 'DSL' will come on. After that, there should be another pause, before the internet light comes on to indicate that the router has been allocated an external IP address from your ISP. If all the lights come on in more or less this sequence, then you can be confident that the broadband modem is working fine. If any of the lights are yellow or red, or if the broadband or internet lights don't come on at all, then it could be that your modem is damaged. This can happen if the modem isn't ventilated and has overheated, or if the phone lines near your house are struck by lightning, sending a power surge to the modem. Alternatively, your ISP may be having technical problems at your exchange - try calling their support hotline to check. You might also like...  How to speed up your wireless networkHow to secure a wireless network How to build the ultimate home media network Assuming that your modem restarts correctly but your network problems remain, the next step is to take as much complexity out of your network as you can. This will help you identify which link in the chain is failing. Does your iPod touch or iPad still connect through Wi-Fi? If so, it's a sign that the problem lies with your Mac. If none of them can connect, try a wired connection instead. There are lots of things that can cause Wi-Fi networks to suddenly break, but most of them boil down to either incompatibility with another network device or problems with wireless security. If you have recently changed broadband provider your wireless security key will have changed, but the new modem/router might also be using a different wireless security protocol. Some older network devices and computers have problems with the newer WPA2. Try temporarily turning security off and see if that makes a difference. It's possible you might need to fall back to the older WEP; this is less secure than WPA or WPA2, but it's still better than nothing. Wireless security is only to protect yourself from hackers within physical wireless range of your network, so depending on how likely your neighbours are to be nicking your broadband, you might not really need more than WEP.
Every device on your network must have a unique IP address. These take the form 192.168.1.n, where n is a number between 0 and 255. When you install a device, you can either choose a number for it yourself or you can leave the router to allocate one automatically, using a service called DHCP. Using DHCP for all devices is usually the easiest option, but some devices don't support it or behave oddly with it. If you assign static IP addresses to some of your network devices, make sure you restrict the address range that the DHCP server on your router can use, and assign static IP addresses that don't lie in this range. How to work network diagnostics1. Traffic lights
Open System Preferences > Network and select the network connection you want to troubleshoot. Click Assist me… at the bottom and then click Diagnostics on the drop-down dialogue. Then click Continue. You'll see a column of green-going lights labelled 'Network Status'. 2. First point of failure
The first light (either yellow or red) indicates the most likely source of the problem. For example, if the phone cable to your router is loose, the 'AirPort', 'AirPort Settings' and 'Network Settings' lights will all show up as green. However, the 'ISP' light and those below it will be red. 3. Problem solved
Some solutions will be thrown up by the diagnostic utility itself, but don't expect too much at this point. If turning the modem off and on doesn't fix things then there won't be any more ideas. But you can start trying other things, such as swapping cables or checking your phone line microfilter. |
| Tutorial: How to run old Windows apps on your Mac Posted:  How to run old Windows apps on your MacWhen it comes to sourcing new Mac applications to replace those you've left behind in Windows, the experience can be a frustrating one. Perhaps you're struggling to find an equivalent app to use, or your budget has forced to pick and choose carefully which programs you can afford to buy. You might even have tried another app only to find yourself ruefully thinking back fondly to an old, familiar Windows app that performed better. You can even see the program disc in front of you, taunting you with its tender memories of the time you used to spend together, enjoying its user-friendliness while taking advantage of all of its features. The good news is that you can both have your cake by switching to a Mac, and still eat it by continuing to use favourite Windows applications. There are a number of ways of running Windows programs on your new Mac. The most complete solution is Parallels 7, but this can be an expensive route to follow: £65 for the program itself, plus there may also be the additional cost of purchasing a new copy of Windows to use with it. With a potential price of £150, it could be a prohibitive move, particularly if there are only a few Windows apps you wish to continue using. A cheaper solution
Thankfully there's another way of emulating Windows programs on your Mac, one that doesn't require a separate Windows license and one which can cost as little as £26 depending on the license you purchase. CrossOver for Mac is that solution. It's based on Wine, an open-source application for running Windows apps in OS X and Linux, but provides a more user-friendly front end. The latest version - CrossOver Mac Impersonator Edition - takes things a step further with a new feature called CrossTie. CrossTie ties in with a regularly updated online database to make it possible to install one of nearly 500 programs with a single click: in some cases you need the original disc, in others CrossTie will download the setup program for you. Each supported app is given a medal rating - gold, silver or bronze - based on how well the program runs under CrossOver. Even if an app isn't officially supported by CrossTie, there are other options that mean thousands of applications can be used with it. We'll explore all of these later. Get started
Start by visiting www.codeweavers.com - click the Free Trial link and choose CrossOver. Opt to download the free 14-day trial, entering your name and email when prompted. Once downloaded, double-click the DMG file and drag the program on to the Applications folder as instructed. Once installed, open up your web browser and go to www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/c4p to search the list for the Windows app you'd like to run on your Mac. This list is far more comprehensive than the one displayed in the program itself, as it includes apps known to work, but not directly supported either by CodeWeavers or other program users. By default, however, only those apps directly supported will appear in the list. Either browse the full list - currently containing just over 9,400 apps - by selecting "Show all applications" or simply search the list for the program you're looking for. If it has been tested, it'll appear in the list, allowing you to see if it's known to work or not. Better still, if the app is certified as supported by either CodeWeavers or the wider community, you'll be able to install it with a single click. Should the app be supported, you have two ways of installing it. If the program comes on a disc, pop the disc into your Mac's drive (or a shared drive via Remote Disc) and open it: CrossOver should detect the disc and offer to install it for you. If you don't have a disc, or the installer files are stored on your hard drive, select the program's name in the list displayed in your web browser and then click "Install via CrossTie" and follow the prompts. You'll be prompted to either select a folder containing all the installation files, or the setup file itself. Once done, check the settings and click Proceed. Many more Windows apps are also compatible with CrossOver Mac. Return to the CodeWeavers compatibility list and choose "Show All Applications" to see an expanded list of over 9,400 applications, more than 1,200 of which are rated gold. If your program is listed, you'll be able to see immediately if it'll work or not: click its entry for more information. If your program is listed, but not supported, you'll need to install it manually. Before doing so, switch to the Tips & Tricks tab in its database entry where you should see some hints from other users revealing how they got the application to install successfully. If your program isn't listed at all, don't panic - it may still work. Everything you need to know about installing an unsupported or unlisted program is covered in the step-by-step guide below. How it works
CrossOver installs your application into what it calls a "bottle". The bottle consists of a rudimentary Windows installation - for compatibility purposes you can install bottles based on Windows 98, 2000, XP or Vista, allowing you to run a range of applications old and new. The bottles themselves contain the bare minimum required to emulate that version Windows, and many apps will require additional software to be installed before they can function. These additions include elements such as system fonts, .NET Framework, various Microsoft Visual Basic and C++ runtimes, and more besides. Installing them can be done in one of three ways: if installing an application via CrossTie, the required components are installed automatically as part of the "one-click" process. Other application installers can install the required elements automatically as part of their setup process, or you can install them manually yourself before installing your target application. It's technically possible to install more than one application into the same bottle, but the general consensus is to create separate bottles for each program you run. This ensures if one causes problems it won't bring the others crashing down with it. Bottles can be created manually by yourself, or automatically by CrossTie when you choose to install a supported application. They can also be backed up, allowing you to quickly and easily restore them at a later date should disaster strike. This also allows you to set up bottles with pre-installed components that can then be quickly copied when required. Install and test
Once installed, the moment of truth arrives: try launching your program. If all is well - as it should be if the program has received a bronze, silver or gold award - you should be able to start using it. Don't be surprised if you come across a few glitches, and be prepared for failure, particularly if the application is unsupported. Mac news and reviews Apple Mac laptop reviewsApple Mac desktop reviews All our Apple news, features and reviews If the application fails to install, don't give up just yet. Open CrossOver's Configure menu and select Manage Bottles. From here you'll see a list of all bottles you've installed in CrossOver. Select the one causing you problems and switch to the Applications tab. You may need to install additional runtime components to make it work: start by removing the program, then click Install Software… and try adding additional components. A number of recommended components include the following: core fonts, Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, Microsoft Visual Basic 6 Service Pack 6 Runtime, Microsoft XML Parser 3.0, msls31, and Windows OLE Components. Not all will be needed, but be prepared to experiment. Generally speaking installing more than you need is good. One component notable by its absence is the .NET Framework 4.0 packages - these aren't currently compatible with CrossOver. If you run into problems when running an application, the Manage Bottles screen can help. Switch to the Control Panel tab and you'll see a number of interesting options: simulated reboot, Task Manager and Wine Configuration. The latter option is for experienced users only, but so long as you back up your bottle - click Make Archive from the Advanced tab to do so. A cheap alternativeThe best thing about CrossOver Mac is the price: at just £25.99 for a Standard license from www.codeweavers.com it could save you a serious amount of dosh if you've just switched from a Windows PC and can't afford to shell out for new alternatives to all your favourite Windows programs, such as Microsoft Office or Photoshop. Note that the Standard license entitles you to free program updates for six months; a Pro license gives you 12 months of updates, plus the option to upgrade for another 12 months of updates when it expires. The Pro license costs £45, with upgrades costing £22.25 thereafter, and also includes a complementary license for CrossOver Games. How to install and update an unsupported app01. Check system requirements
Note down any special components listed by the system requirements - these need to be installed first in CrossOver Mac. If they're needed, click Install Windows Software and select the first one under Runtime Support Components. 02. Set up bottle
Click Select next to "Select a bottle into which to install". Choose one of the New options, picking the version of Windows most likely to work - for post-2001 releases, XP is best. Then change the bottle name to the program you wish to install and click Install. 03. Install pre-requisites
Follow the prompts to complete the installation. Click Done, then go to Configure > Manage Bottles… Select your program bottle, switch to the Applications tab and click Install Software... Then install any other required components like Core Fonts. 04. Locate installer
Repeat the process to install software from the Manage Bottles dialogue box, but this time choose Other Application under Unsupported Applications. Either insert the program disc, or click Select next to "Select an Installer" to manually select the setup file. 05. Install application
When complete, the program may launch itself automatically or run a configuration wizard - work your way through this. Once it has finished configuring itself, close the program via its File menu or by closing the main window. 06. Launch and test
Assuming your application opens okay, you'll now need to test it, as certain things may not work - particularly if you've just installed an unsupported app. It's best to err on the side of caution and regularly save any documents or files you're working on. |
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